For example, in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or the like, various kinds of processes such as an ion implantation process, an etching process, a film-forming process and the like are performed with respect to semiconductor wafers (hereinafter referred to as “wafers” as substrates. A process called an atomic layer deposition (ALD) or a molecular layer deposition (MLD), which performs a film-forming process with respect to wafers, is implemented by, for example, a batch processing system which performs a process with respect to a plurality of wafers within an evacuated process chamber.
As the batch processing system, there has been used a system disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the batch processing system 200 includes, for example, a circular mounting table 210 configured to concentrically mount a plurality of wafers W thereon in order to assure the improvement of in-plane uniformity in a process of the wafers W and the improvement of uniformity in the process between the wafers W and a cylindrical process chamber 211 configured to accommodate the mounting table 210,
A vacuum transfer chamber 212 is installed adjacent to the process chamber 211. The wafers W accommodated within a cassette C of a cassette station 201 disposed at the atmospheric side a e transferred into the process chamber 211 through a load lock chamber 214 adjoining the vacuum transfer chamber 212, by a transfer arm 213 disposed at the atmospheric side and a transfer arm 215 installed in e vacuum transfer chamber 212.